I have always split housing costs evenly, with whoever I lived with. Perhaps it is a carry over from having roommates but it always seemed the fairest way as we get the same benefit of the use of the house, power etc.The only time that I wouldn't pay equally is if one person particularly wanted a service (eg cable) or wanted a bigger/better house than my budget would allow.

Totally agree. Splitting living costs based on income is weird to me, we both use the same house and get the same amount of joy out of it so to me it is logical that we pay the same amount. It could be different if you had to move to a HCOL-area due to the job of one partner. Or if the partner who makes more money insists on a bigger house/apartment because he/she earns more and want something ‘befitting’ his/her income. Yeah, in that case the partner wanting to upgrade can pay more but if both partners chose the current house in the location they both wanted then cost should be split equally as both get the same amount of use/enjoyment out of it. Same for cars, basic car both will use: split evenly. One partner really wants a more fancy, bling bling car, well then that partner can pony up the difference! It should also help to keep both on a more mustachian trajectory!

This whole conversation makes me think a couple of things:

1. I'm glad my husband and I have one big mixed finance pot.

2. When I was single and had roommates - we split a few ways.- In the house with 3 roommates - 1/3 each- in the nicer apartment with 1 roommate - she got the larger master bedroom and bath, so it was adjusted by size of room.- summer her boyfriend moved in, we measured the area of the common rooms, split that 3 ways. They split the area of her bed/ bath, and I paid my bed/ bath. Originally her goal was that he just split her part of the rent, but ... no

It's astounding how many people truly believe that adding another human to the house doesn't create cleaning, wear and tear, utility usage, and opportunity cost in the parts of the house besides the bedroom.

Plus he ate my food and had really big feet (which only matters because I'd find his size 14 shoes all over the apartment).

I have always split housing costs evenly, with whoever I lived with. Perhaps it is a carry over from having roommates but it always seemed the fairest way as we get the same benefit of the use of the house, power etc.The only time that I wouldn't pay equally is if one person particularly wanted a service (eg cable) or wanted a bigger/better house than my budget would allow.

Totally agree. Splitting living costs based on income is weird to me, we both use the same house and get the same amount of joy out of it so to me it is logical that we pay the same amount. It could be different if you had to move to a HCOL-area due to the job of one partner. Or if the partner who makes more money insists on a bigger house/apartment because he/she earns more and want something ‘befitting’ his/her income. Yeah, in that case the partner wanting to upgrade can pay more but if both partners chose the current house in the location they both wanted then cost should be split equally as both get the same amount of use/enjoyment out of it. Same for cars, basic car both will use: split evenly. One partner really wants a more fancy, bling bling car, well then that partner can pony up the difference! It should also help to keep both on a more mustachian trajectory!

This whole conversation makes me think a couple of things:

1. I'm glad my husband and I have one big mixed finance pot.

2. When I was single and had roommates - we split a few ways.- In the house with 3 roommates - 1/3 each- in the nicer apartment with 1 roommate - she got the larger master bedroom and bath, so it was adjusted by size of room.- summer her boyfriend moved in, we measured the area of the common rooms, split that 3 ways. They split the area of her bed/ bath, and I paid my bed/ bath. Originally her goal was that he just split her part of the rent, but ... no

When I moved in with my fiance for a year her roommate we went 1/3 each. The roommate expected 50/25/25 split, and 40/30/30 would probably been the most equitable. I viewed it was a net savings and figured the extra good will was worth a few extra bucks for a year.

Many families have different approached to money. I viewed marriage as going all-in. We pooled household expenses and have had no major disagreements over 10 years of marriage, including when my wife switched to stay-at-home. We each maintain our own accounts for our modest "allowance". The regular allowance in our personal accounts are for clothes, hobbies, toys, etc. We never have to justify the spending of that money, and that keeps away from judging or second guessing the other's choices.

I have always split housing costs evenly, with whoever I lived with. Perhaps it is a carry over from having roommates but it always seemed the fairest way as we get the same benefit of the use of the house, power etc.The only time that I wouldn't pay equally is if one person particularly wanted a service (eg cable) or wanted a bigger/better house than my budget would allow.

Totally agree. Splitting living costs based on income is weird to me, we both use the same house and get the same amount of joy out of it so to me it is logical that we pay the same amount. It could be different if you had to move to a HCOL-area due to the job of one partner. Or if the partner who makes more money insists on a bigger house/apartment because he/she earns more and want something ‘befitting’ his/her income. Yeah, in that case the partner wanting to upgrade can pay more but if both partners chose the current house in the location they both wanted then cost should be split equally as both get the same amount of use/enjoyment out of it. Same for cars, basic car both will use: split evenly. One partner really wants a more fancy, bling bling car, well then that partner can pony up the difference! It should also help to keep both on a more mustachian trajectory!

Agreed... Ish.

I've only ever lived with one romantic partner, and I wound up marrying him and we're still together, so it's not like I have extensive experience here.

When we first moved in together, we'd been together for 2 years but weren't at the stage of getting married/combining finances (aka: I wasn't gonna combine finances without a framework for de-combining or sign of permanence). I made twice what he did - I had an entry-level corporate job and he worked part-time in a call centre and part-time as a musician. What we wound up doing was putting together a budget with things split 50/50 based on the money he brought in (and had a semi-crap apartment, no car, etc) opening a joint account, and putting money for 50% of rent/utilities/food in there, and keeping the rest "separate". And then, key for us, I think, was that we kept the same amount for personal spending available (it SUCKS to be in a relationship where one person has 50$ of disposable income and the other person has 1.5k, monthly...) and I put the difference in savings - the logic being that if we decided not to stay together it was "my" money, and if we did it'd be a great investment for a shared future. Win/win.

I get it but count me among those who favor split by income. Before we moved in together, Mr. StacheyStache was living in an apartment that I affectionately called Ranch Cucaracha for obvious reasons (not due to uncleanliness, but I'd still see five-six cockroaches per visit). He was lucky; his brother lived a few units over, had an even cleaner apartment than Mr. Stachey, and had rats. Mr. Stachey makes half what I do and that's what his budget could afford (with roommates). He offered to have me move in and split costs in half or look around for another apartment in his budget. I declined and we chose a nicer apartment with a higher rent and no vermin. It wasn't a big deal to Mr. Stachey who had lived in similar units before but it was to me and I'm willing to pay more for it. I have no interest in bankrupting him and I still benefit from cheaper rent due to Mr. Stachey's contribution. Win/win in my book. Your mileage may vary though.

I get it but count me among those who favor split by income. Before we moved in together, Mr. StacheyStache was living in an apartment that I affectionately called Ranch Cucaracha for obvious reasons (not due to uncleanliness, but I'd still see five-six cockroaches per visit). He was lucky; his brother lived a few units over, had an even cleaner apartment than Mr. Stachey, and had rats. Mr. Stachey makes half what I do and that's what his budget could afford (with roommates). He offered to have me move in and split costs in half or look around for another apartment in his budget. I declined and we chose a nicer apartment with a higher rent and no vermin. It wasn't a big deal to Mr. Stachey who had lived in similar units before but it was to me and I'm willing to pay more for it. I have no interest in bankrupting him and I still benefit from cheaper rent due to Mr. Stachey's contribution. Win/win in my book. Your mileage may vary though.

My initial reaction to the first sentence was disagreement... but then I read the rest. Five-six cockroaches per visit. Maybe I have an irrational fear of the nasty little things, but I'd pay a lot not to be around them.

One of my coworkers paid >$1000 to tickets to a football game. He said it was a "once in a lifetime chance" except those two teams play each other every other year.

I'm guessing it was a college game. A guy at my gym mentioned spending $1000+ for the Vikings vs Packers game. It was the home opener and the first game at the new stadium that the taxpayers graciously built for the Viking's billionaire owner so these factors pushed up the price, but still I cannot imagine spending that kind of money.

For me, spending $50 to see my alma mater's football team play in Minnesota was beyond what I was willing to spend for entertainment (that would be $50 for ticket, extras for getting to the stadium and any food/drink purchases ect). Most of my friends looked at me with disbelief for not forking the cash, esp when my team won by stopping the Gophers at the 1 yard line as time expired.

That truly is a once-in-a-lifetime event though. My former boss bought a Game 3 ticket for $200 from a friend who couldn't make it. I don't even like baseball, but I'd have gone for $200 in a similar situation. (But all things considered, if I had that ticket and couldn't make it, I'd have sold that sucker in a hot minute.)

As cheap as I am when it comes to going to sporting events (notice I did not use the term frugal), if I had an opportunity to get a WS ticket for $200 or less I would have taken it in a heartbeat (provided I was already in the hosting city). Even needing to wait hours for the EL, it would have been worth the experience and I'm not even a fan of baseball.

My office mate is complaining that he "has" to buy his college aged son another car, because he crashed the first one.

Son lives at his houseCW is paying for tuition, phone, everythingThey live just a few blocks away from the light rail station that would take Son directly to campus with ~20 min train ride.

And the saddest part is that my CW is probably mid-50s and obviously wants to just be fishing at this point, but will be working until he's 65 to pay for all this.

Wow - perhaps we need to rename this topic the "anti-mustachian wall of shame and comedy and sadness" since that what I felt reading co-worker's story. He's not doing his son any favors by purchasing him a car.

My office mate is complaining that he "has" to buy his college aged son another car, because he crashed the first one.

Son lives at his houseCW is paying for tuition, phone, everythingThey live just a few blocks away from the light rail station that would take Son directly to campus with ~20 min train ride.

And the saddest part is that my CW is probably mid-50s and obviously wants to just be fishing at this point, but will be working until he's 65 to pay for all this.

Wow - perhaps we need to rename this topic the "anti-mustachian wall of shame and comedy and sadness" since that what I felt reading co-worker's story. He's not doing his son any favors by purchasing him a car.

My parents think my 35 year old brother is still a baby. It's hard for me to advocate against economic outpatient care without sounding douchey, but I guess at this point it's a hobby for them to "get him launched"

P.S. I guess that didn't seem too relevant... it just reminded me of the time borrowed my dad's Porsche, lent it to a friend to wrecked it, then got kicked out of college. He needed the Porsche because the he didn't maintain the new Mustang my parents bought him that rusted through. Now he drives a BMW. Yes, the brother that makes 1/10 my salary drives a car that's 5x more expensive than mine.

My office mate is complaining that he "has" to buy his college aged son another car, because he crashed the first one.

Son lives at his houseCW is paying for tuition, phone, everythingThey live just a few blocks away from the light rail station that would take Son directly to campus with ~20 min train ride.

And the saddest part is that my CW is probably mid-50s and obviously wants to just be fishing at this point, but will be working until he's 65 to pay for all this.

Wow - perhaps we need to rename this topic the "anti-mustachian wall of shame and comedy and sadness" since that what I felt reading co-worker's story. He's not doing his son any favors by purchasing him a car.

My parents think my 35 year old brother is still a baby. It's hard for me to advocate against economic outpatient care without sounding douchey, but I guess at this point it's a hobby for them to "get him launched"

P.S. I guess that didn't seem too relevant... it just reminded me of the time borrowed my dad's Porsche, lent it to a friend to wrecked it, then got kicked out of college. He needed the Porsche because the he didn't maintain the new Mustang my parents bought him that rusted through. Now he drives a BMW. Yes, the brother that makes 1/10 my salary drives a car that's 5x more expensive than mine.

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

There's only one thing to do. Set him up on a date with Madame Bovary.

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

There's only one thing to do. Set him up on a date with Madame Bovary.

LOLOLOLOL. Oh if only they didn't live on opposite coasts or have a 20 year age difference. That would be sweet sweet revenge, I'm sure she could spend through his cash right quick. And that was definitely the laugh I needed because I'm still pissed off three hours later.

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

I don't condone any type of harassment, I just wanted to comment that talking about mud butt is absolutely a normal conversation for grown ass men to have. I'm just basing this on the hundreds of conversations I've either had or over heard about mud butt and/or related conditions.

I don't condone any type of harassment, I just wanted to comment that talking about mud butt is absolutely a normal conversation for grown ass men to have. I'm just basing this on the hundreds of conversations I've either had or over heard about mud butt and/or related conditions.

Huh. Hundreds of conversations?

I've not only not had a conversation about it, I've literally never heard of it. Weird how different peoples' experiences can be.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with a kid.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

I don't condone any type of harassment, I just wanted to comment that talking about mud butt is absolutely a normal conversation for grown ass men to have. I'm just basing this on the hundreds of conversations I've either had or over heard about mud butt and/or related conditions.

Counterpoint: you'd be out the door in less than two hours if you had that conversation at my workplace. Obviously not speaking to what people talk about at lunch/home/etc

So we all know from much earlier postings that my office has been filled with some utter JACKASSES who were quite prone to sexual harassment. Most of them were fired, 2 were moved across country, things had settled down, my boss took a full insular role so that I didn't have to deal with them often. The Two jackasses are in the office for meetings this week and I literally just lost my shit on one of them, I mean devolved into a him screaming, me almost screaming, match and I walked out. I know, I know, high road...but my boss and I are so over their shit I can't describe and I've taken the high road every other time.

Walks in, see's me says hi and I'm thinking everything is going to be civil (i've checked this guy more times then I can count so generally he's pretty good).

"Man I had this stupid woman on the plane up here, watching CNN (you know clinton news network), and she made the comment she was worried about her future rights, well I just told her this is America and Trump will make it great again! She said well, I'm gay, and a woman, his platform doesn't bode well for me" I just told her she was being ridiculous and if she was that worried, then she shouldn't be gay. I mean she wouldn't have anything to fear from Trump and his cabinet if she wasn't gay. I pointed out the whole womans rights thing and about not being able to "choose" gayness, and was pish poshed as being "an emotional liberal"

I. Lost. My. Shit. Not even going to sugarcoat. Called my boss, she told me to start recording stuff and keeping emails because she's had enough and wants to start building a case because we've both complained about this crap several times and no one wants to fire the "cool kids". The conversation when douchbag two came in revolved around his extreme case of Mudd Butt that he's had for two days and how hard the flight was clenching his butt cheeks. These are NOT normal conversations from grown ass men (and they are in their upper 40's so these aren't 20 something kids fresh out of school).

This kind of frightens me, being upper 40s myself. I just can't imagine.

I don't condone any type of harassment, I just wanted to comment that talking about mud butt is absolutely a normal conversation for grown ass men to have. I'm just basing this on the hundreds of conversations I've either had or over heard about mud butt and/or related conditions.

Huh. Hundreds of conversations?

I've not only not had a conversation about it, I've literally never heard of it. Weird how different peoples' experiences can be.

I don't condone any type of harassment, I just wanted to comment that talking about mud butt is absolutely a normal conversation for grown ass men to have. I'm just basing this on the hundreds of conversations I've either had or over heard about mud butt and/or related conditions.

Huh. Hundreds of conversations?

I've not only not had a conversation about it, I've literally never heard of it. Weird how different peoples' experiences can be.

Never watched the chappelle show? I can think of two skits off the top of my head that reference mud butt. The ribs sleeping aid, and the profiles in courage of the black man pooping in the segregated bathroom. He has several other that reference bathroom humor, but I'm fairly certain those actually use the term "mud butt".

The hundreds of conversations I've had (or heard) have not been specifically about mud butt, but I think they qualify anyway. I've been in the work force for 20 years. If I participate in or overheard just 5 such conversations a year (roughly 1 every 10 weeks) I would be at 100+ already, and it's way more frequent than that.

Part of my current career is working on smoke stacks, sometimes 100+ feet in the air. When you are the guy at the top for a 14 hour day it can be not only impractical to climb all the way down, then walk all the way across the plant to the bathroom, but it can be impossible given that you are often up there to move equipment at frequent intervals. If you have to move a probe every 5 minutes a 40 minute bathroom break is impossible, not to mention exhausting since you have to climb down and then back up. Peeing in gatorade bottles is a regular part of the job. I have also had to poop in a bucket. There are legends of employees before my time having to make due with a pringles can, and it has become some what of a running joke. I am counting those as part of the hundreds of conversations.

But with their apparent spend levels, I don't think 1MM would be enough for them.

I caught part of a TV show about a realtor selling homes to lottery winners.A couple in their late 40s early 50s on hard times, lost a job, moved in with his mother.But things were not so bad that they couldn't afford lottery tickets...They won, a million dollars, so they're buying a home, first home viewed was $800k.Then the realtor showed them a $415k home that they loved.$1 M, 4%, $40k a year was never a thought. So sad.

I caught part of a TV show about a realtor selling homes to lottery winners.A couple in their late 40s early 50s on hard times, lost a job, moved in with his mother.But things were not so bad that they couldn't afford lottery tickets...They won, a million dollars, so they're buying a home, first home viewed was $800k.Then the realtor showed them a $415k home that they loved.$1 M, 4%, $40k a year was never a thought. So sad.

Sad indeed. I have a friend who has enough (or very close to) money to retire if she could life on a budget of 1.500 euro a month. In Belgium this is decent living if you are a bit smart/frugal on some stuff. Unfortunately she has two ideas firmly lodged in her head:1) it is impossible to buy a decent house below 500.000 euro +2) being free to do what you want = buying everything you want.The really sad part is she doesn't like her job but she will continue to work for the next 25 years because she will buy an expensive house and continue to go to restaurants way too much. Each year I see her become less and less happy with life ...

It is benefit re-enrollment time, and the company is utterly changing up how the medical and dental benefits work, so it is a bit confusing for people. e.g., a complexity is that instead of paying part of the premiums each pay period, and putting $600 into a HSA, they will just give a larger amount to HSA that we direct to the (now) much higher monthly premiums..

The end impact is that a family that relies on one employee for health benefits will pay between $150 and $300 more per month. I think that it is a lot, but not atrocious, and those that have a spouse with good benefits can opt out if they like and save money, or you can get a bit less coverage and get a bit of money back.

After the hue and cry died down, the answer from management is that they will continue on with the plan, but cover $150 per month of it for another three months, then it is fully employee paid. This makes me assume that people were claiming hardships from it, and they want to delay it until pay raises kick in.

I am not sure if this is just sucky (as the $ will absorb everyone's pay raise this year and then some), or if the clamour about the gigantic increase is justified. Average employee is making $60k, average for employees with families would be closer to $75k.

At a day-long meeting at a vendor. The guy next to me is quite the character. I've watched him drink five diet colas in the past hour. He drinks these suckers with a big sucking/slurping noise. His lunch brought from home was a big bag of potato chips. Right now I can see that he is playing I like poker on his laptop.

Question: is that better or worse than me checking the MMM forums in the same meeting? :-)

At a day-long meeting at a vendor. The guy next to me is quite the character. I've watched him drink five diet colas in the past hour. He drinks these suckers with a big sucking/slurping noise. His lunch brought from home was a big bag of potato chips. Right now I can see that he is playing I like poker on his laptop.

Question: is that better or worse than me checking the MMM forums in the same meeting? :-)

A friend at my gym was complaining about this. Apparently all the units are sold out but thankfully she isn't going to pay $200+ to get it on ebay, she said she'll wait until they come back in stock (she thinks it will be Feb before she gets it).

I want the new one, but I'll wait until I can get it for $60 (or less).

I get that you can play the games online, but it's not the same as playing with the original square controller hooked up to the TV.

I'm not a gamer, but I think this looks like a fun activity my kid can also do, and is much cheaper/easier/less involved than the current high-zoot fancy systems that seem like you spend more time setting up the game than just screwing around like I like to do on the old Nintendo.

Logged

"If I could get all the money back I ever spent on cars, I'd spend it on cars." - Nick Mason

I live about 40 miles away from work, not bad considering Phoenix and I would downtown. There is an Express bus park and ride about 10 mins from my house and as part of the compensation, I get a free bus/lightrail pass. I figured what the heck, Ill check out the bus ride and see how it goes. Long story short, Im a big fan, but everyone I tell looks at me like I have an alien growing out of my forehead lol. I try to explain these arent your standard mass transit busses, they basically run only in the morning and at night getting working professionals to and from work and only make a few stops while in town, then it never stops again until the park and ride about 30 miles away. I added up my monthly savings and its about $200 a month in gas and parking. So I figure I actually make $2400 more a year, plus possibly more if I can cut my insurance costs since Im not driving near the mileage anymore. Not to mention, I don't have the headache of driving in rush hour 2x a day. That alone is worth it!!

I live about 40 miles away from work, not bad considering Phoenix and I would downtown. There is an Express bus park and ride about 10 mins from my house and as part of the compensation, I get a free bus/lightrail pass. I figured what the heck, Ill check out the bus ride and see how it goes. Long story short, Im a big fan, but everyone I tell looks at me like I have an alien growing out of my forehead lol. I try to explain these arent your standard mass transit busses, they basically run only in the morning and at night getting working professionals to and from work and only make a few stops while in town, then it never stops again until the park and ride about 30 miles away. I added up my monthly savings and its about $200 a month in gas and parking. So I figure I actually make $2400 more a year, plus possibly more if I can cut my insurance costs since Im not driving near the mileage anymore. Not to mention, I don't have the headache of driving in rush hour 2x a day. That alone is worth it!!

I think this belongs in the "What small things did you do TODAY to save money?" thread :)

I live about 40 miles away from work, not bad considering Phoenix and I would downtown. There is an Express bus park and ride about 10 mins from my house and as part of the compensation, I get a free bus/lightrail pass. I figured what the heck, Ill check out the bus ride and see how it goes. Long story short, Im a big fan, but everyone I tell looks at me like I have an alien growing out of my forehead lol. I try to explain these arent your standard mass transit busses, they basically run only in the morning and at night getting working professionals to and from work and only make a few stops while in town, then it never stops again until the park and ride about 30 miles away. I added up my monthly savings and its about $200 a month in gas and parking. So I figure I actually make $2400 more a year, plus possibly more if I can cut my insurance costs since Im not driving near the mileage anymore. Not to mention, I don't have the headache of driving in rush hour 2x a day. That alone is worth it!!

My daughter and I were adventuring in Phoenix last winter, and I insisted on using the buses for the Fiesta Bowl Parade because we could park near the stop and not have to drive. She snarked a bit about having to take public transit (she's very American that way) but marveled to see that buses were running on all major routes even on a holiday Sunday, and that there is a functional light rail system. For a Western city in the United States Phoenix and the surrounding urban areas are quite advanced in terms of its bus transit. I was impressed with the cleanliness and promptness of the buses and the way we could get almost anywhere we wanted to go with only one transfer and a bit of walking. I do like Arizona and could see myself living there, however I think I might like Flagstaff best because of the trees.

I was impressed with the cleanliness and promptness of the buses and the way we could get almost anywhere we wanted to go with only one transfer and a bit of walking. I do like Arizona and could see myself living there, however I think I might like Flagstaff best because of the trees.

Good for you. I am also in general pleases with cleanliness of trains here in Norway. But once a year when i visit the Netherlands and take a train from the airport, I have been shocked several times of how dirty the trains are. And that doesn't give me a good feeling for using them. Yes, public transport can be convenient, if you can sit comfortably and if it is clean.

Colleague A (who I really like in general) has started working a part-time job on top of her full-time job, because she needs to earn more money.Because:She's inherited £10,000 and therefore wants to use it as a deposit on a flat. So far so good. However she recently bought a car on finance, and presumably has other finance issues, so the bank won't give her a mortgage unless she's earning over £25,000. Hence the part-time side hustle to bump up her overall wage.Management found out and sent round an email telling us all that we have to ask permission before we get a part-time side hustle incase it affects our work/there's a conflict of interest.

So on the one hand, I think management have no business dictating whether we can get an extra job - and also loads of people have done this in the past and they're only now cottoning on to the fact.

BUT

On the other hand, it is complainy-pants central now in the office. A lot of complaining about how it is impossible for anyone to get a mortage on the wages we get paid. Younger people are having a full-on war with older people about how unfair it is on the younger generation who can't afford to buy homes, etc, and the older (i.e management) generation are stopping them from realising their dreams.Except, I earn less than £25,000 a year, and I saved less than £10,000 of a deposit, and I bought a flat, THIS YEAR. And my bank gave me mortgage, presumably because I didn't have a massive car loan and tons of other debt already.Yet nobody is suggesting that it's more about Colleague A's financial decisions. Nope, it's all the fault of our employer.UUGH.She also buys a lot of clothes and goes out to fancy bars, etc.

I really like this woman - she's a great person. But all of this is just melting my brain.